7 Things My Newborn is Teaching Me

1. To appreciate the bare necessities in life such as sleep, baths and mealtimes. 

2. To discover the meaning behind the songs we sang from our childhood days in church. Singing hymns and children church songs to soothe the baby ends up being a worship session. Just that day, I was singing 'God is Good all the Time' and the words really touched my heart. My husband sang it another day and concurred. 

God is good all the time 

He put a song of praise in this heart of mine 

God is good all the time 

Through the darkest night, 

His light will shine 

God is good, God is good all the time 

If you're walking through the valley 

And there are shadows all around 

Do not fear, He will guide you 

He will keep you safe and sound 

'Cause He's promised to never leave you 

Nor forsake you and His Word is true 

We were sinners and so unworthy 

Still for us He chose to die 

Filled us with His Holy Spirit 

Now we can stand and testify 

That His love is everlasting 

And His mercies - they will never end 

 Though I may not understand 

All the plans You have for me 

My life is in Your hands 

And through the eyes of faith, I can clearly see.... 

 3. To trust that God is in control and everything becomes a prayer. Being first time parents, there are endless worries and daily challenges. Learning new vocabulary like colic, cradle cap, Moro reflex etc, one can easily get overwhelmed. Most times, praying with the baby is the best thing to calm our frazzled nerves.

4. When there is nothing we can do to help the baby, just being with him through the struggles and loving him is helping.

5. To rely on God's grace and not my own failing strength. How frail and feeble we are.

6. To enjoy 4am devotional time. The two verses I have committed to memory in the past week:

James 4:14: Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. (Therefore, live for God's glory.)

Romans 8:28-29: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

This verse is often quoted out of context...most of the time ending at 'for the good' or 'of those who love him'. We miss out the key phrases which I underlined as a reminder to myself. He has called us to be like His Son. Things will work out for good and the good being that we will be like Christ one day as He finishes His work in us. Not the worldly good that we may wish upon ourselves like good health, steady income or perpetual humanly blessings. It is the reminder how frail our lives are and what Christ has done for us which will hopefully take me through the darkest nights and storms.

7. To realise that my son's deepest need more than anything in the world is to know the Lord and that the only thing that truly matters is that he comes to have a living relationship with God.